Stakeholders are looking to develop SA’s maritime sector, which has career and skills development opportunities for youth, says an industry representative.

Last month, the Dutch Consulate met with the Western Cape Maritime Cluster at the Damen Shipyards in Cape Town to discuss business opportunities in SA’s maritime sector.

Fifty high-performing students from the top-performing economically disadvantaged high schools in the broader 

Cape Town area were invited, according to event organisers. They toured the harbour and attended workshops on career opportunities in the industry.

“Maritime has the potential to provide new opportunities for SA’s talented youth population to explore the ocean’s economy as a part of their professional futures.

“The Netherlands mission in South Africa recognises the significant value in investing in skills development and is proud to be a partner in this initiative,” said Sebastiaan Messerschmidt, Netherlands Consul General.

Benny Bhali, chairperson of the Western Cape Maritime Cluster, said a concerted effort was required for enterprise development. Bhali said the ocean was filled with opportunity and Cape Town was ideally positioned to drive growth.

He told Fin24 there were opportunities for small businesses in particular to act as suppliers for the maritime industry. The maritime cluster wants to focus on supplier development.

“We want companies in the Western Cape to understand that maritime is not just a local industry, but a global industry,” he said.

The cluster also aims to help small, established businesses expand their operations through workshops to improve skills: for example, filing tax returns or understanding the Companies Act, he said.

He said the cluster did not charge small businesses a fee. It’s a matter of working collaboratively to drive growth, in line with the president’s economic stimulus package objectives.

“We have a [growth] problem. We can’t continue to think about the problem – we need to find solutions to address it,” he said.

original source: https://www.fin24.com/Entrepreneurs/opportunities-for-youth-and-small-businesses-in-maritime-20181108

hildhood friends Durand Naidoo and Thuso Mhlambi have realized a lifelong ambition by becoming the first 100% black owned ship-owners in South Africa.

The 33-year-old owners of Linsen Nambi, the company they started in 2012, made maritime history as youth owners when they bought Grindrod’s Unicorn Bunker Services.

With their female empowerment partners, Women in Oil and Energy, they became the role model for the Government’s initiative to unlock transformation in the maritime – and liquid fuels – industries.

Said founding member of Linsen Nambi, Durand Naidoo: “Linsen Nambi is a 100% black youth owned shipping company with highly skilled maritime professionals, strong customer relationships and owns its own ships.

“Therefore we are well placed for strategic acquisitions and organic growth to develop our infrastructure further.”

He says the deal took a “concerted effort” from the private sector (Grindrod), government (IDC) & oil majors (BP, Engen and Chevron).

“It is unbelievable that it took this long, but is a first win for the recently legislated Combined Maritime Transport Policy, which calls for black ownership in shipping.”

Linsen Nambi’s other founding member, Thuso Mhlambi said there was a great need for the private sector and the funding institutions to “better align themselves to Governments Development Plans to unlock more deals like ours”.

He added: “I would like to see the private sector opening up this space to new entrants, something that will facilitate the creation of employment.”

Naidoo and Mhlambi have set a goal: to become the leading African shipping company with a global presence.

They already employ 110 people, a number they hope to increase significantly as they grow the business.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, Durand Naidoo and Thuso Mhlamb

Since the inception of Linsen Nambi six years ago, the company has bought three bunker vessels in the ports of Durban and Cape Town.

These bunkers supply fuel to vessels; as Naidoo describes it: “In layman terms we are the petrol attendants of the sea.”

Mhlambi says they are proud of their transformation successes: Seven out of twelve masters are black, all twelve chief officers and all twelve chief engineers in the company are black.

The story of the inception of their company is one of a friendship that goes back to 1996, when they were both 10 and in grade 4 at Montclair Senior Primary School in Durban.

Says Naidoo: “We became instant friends; Thuso was, and still is, the funniest person I’ve ever met.”

The men say that they stuck together when they progressed to the New Forest High School in Yellow Wood Park, Durban.

Said Mhlambi: “It was a racially divided, model C school with kids bussed in from so called poor areas. Because we had a group of multi-racial friends, we were labeled sell-outs – but we survived.”

 our lives.  We are aware that our success is for a higher purpose and thus have a strong focus on the development of communities where we operate.”

Naidoo added: “Our friendship is based on 23 years of loyalty and growing up together from children to men. We are as close as brothers.”

They took different forks in the road at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal.

Naidoo got his Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting degree but says becoming an Auditor didn’t interest him.

“I decided to study further and, by chance, chose Maritime Economics as an elective. I was bitten by the maritime bug from the first lecture.”

Stakeholders are looking to develop SA’s maritime sector, which has career and skills development opportunities for youth, says an industry representative.

Last month, the Dutch Consulate met with the Western Cape Maritime Cluster at the Damen Shipyards in Cape Town to discuss business opportunities in SA’s maritime sector.

Fifty high-performing students from the top-performing economically disadvantaged high schools in the broader 

Cape Town area were invited, according to event organisers. They toured the harbour and attended workshops on career opportunities in the industry.

“Maritime has the potential to provide new opportunities for SA’s talented youth population to explore the ocean’s economy as a part of their professional futures.

“The Netherlands mission in South Africa recognises the significant value in investing in skills development and is proud to be a partner in this initiative,” said Sebastiaan Messerschmidt, Netherlands Consul General.

Benny Bhali, chairperson of the Western Cape Maritime Cluster, said a concerted effort was required for enterprise development. Bhali said the ocean was filled with opportunity and Cape Town was ideally positioned to drive growth.

He told Fin24 there were opportunities for small businesses in particular to act as suppliers for the maritime industry. The maritime cluster wants to focus on supplier development.

“We want companies in the Western Cape to understand that maritime is not just a local industry, but a global industry,” he said.

The cluster also aims to help small, established businesses expand their operations through workshops to improve skills: for example, filing tax returns or understanding the Companies Act, he said.

He said the cluster did not charge small businesses a fee. It’s a matter of working collaboratively to drive growth, in line with the president’s economic stimulus package objectives.

“We have a [growth] problem. We can’t continue to think about the problem – we need to find solutions to address it,” he said.

original source: https://www.fin24.com/Entrepreneurs/opportunities-for-youth-and-small-businesses-in-maritime-20181108